Treating-material injection attachment for coke-igniting devices



Jan. 30, 1951 MASON TREATING-MATERIAL INJECTION ATTACHMENT FOR COKE-IGNITING DEVICES Filed Aug. 4, 1948 Jana/h 1M0 K 3 I Q ATTOR N EY Patented Jan. 30, 1951 TREATING-MATERIAL INJECTION ATTACH- MENT FOR COKE-IGNITING DEVICES Donald Earl Mason, Greensboro, N. 0. Application August 4, 1948, 'Serial No. 42,406

'This invention relates to portable fuel igniting devices suitable for starting fires in the cupola furnaces of metal foundries, as described and claimed in my copending United States application, Serial No. '786,'744, filed November 12, 1947, now Patent 2,492,705, issued Dec. 27, 1949, and it relates more particularly to special attachments for such devices.

An important object of my invention is to provide an attachment for fuel igniting devicesfor injecting powdered treating materials into the furnace charge to modify the physical or chemical'characteristics of the metal being produced.

Another object of my invention is to provide a treating-material injection attachment of sim-. plified construction which is capable of replacing the electrode structure of fuel ignitingde- Claims. (Cl. 302-25) tion portion lc. The butt section is formed with two longitudinal and parallel extending passageways 2 and 3. The passageway 2 is located in alignment with the bore of the barrel and is' closed by a plug 4 screwed into the end of this' opening, while the air duct or passageway 3 constitutes a branch which communicates with the passageway 2 and is closed at the same end as passageway 2 by a wall 3a. v Extending axially through the barrel and passageway 2 is a welding rod 5 which forms the electrode of the gun, and this Welding rod provices and which, when out of service and removed from the device, occupies very little space.

Still another object of my invention is to providea treating-material injection attachment of the above character which is so constructed and arranged that the air flowing through the fuel igniting device causes the attachment to vibrate and hence induce pulsations into the air flow which overcome any tendency of the powdered treating-material to clog the passages of the device.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description of a preferred form of the invention, reference being had to the annexed drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a'coke-igniting gun;

Figure 2 is an end View of the gun of Figure 1 taken on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side view,-partly cross-sectional,

of .the spinner 'for imparting vibration to the electrocle during operation of the gun; I

Figure 4 is a plan view of the butt end of the gun showing a fitting including the air lines for supplying air to the gun coupled thereto; and

Figure 5 is a. longitudinal cross-sectional view of the gun corresponding to Figure 1 but having'the central electrode and associated structure replaced by a treating-material injection attachment.

The fuel igniting device shown in the drawing 0 ameters-merging through a short aye-a trend jects a' short distance beyond the open end of the barrel and also passes through a recess in the plug 4 at the opposite closed end of the gun'.

A tube of insulating material 5, such as hard fiber, encircles and supports the welding rod throughout the major portion of its length but leaves the tip of the rod exposed for a'short distance inwardly from the open end of the gunj The welding rod at the closed end of the gun is suitably connected to a wire or cable 1 which forms one side of an electrical circuit by which current is supplied to the electrode, the other's'id'e of the circuit being represented by the metal gun" deliver combustion air through an opening in the wall 3a at the closed end of passageway 3 which air flows along this air duct into the pas- I sageway 2 and thence through the barrel lb of the gun in the space intermediate the welding rod and the wall of the barrel, ultimately escaping through the open or muzzle end of the barrel. In order to allow powdered coke, or other highly inflammable material to be introduced into the air stream, a pocket In is provided on the gun adjacent its closed end, a hole being provided in the bottom of this pocket which communicates with the passageway 3. Inflammable material supplied to the pocket I0 is siphoned through f the hole in its bottom to uniformly feed such material to the air stream.

The passageway 2 adjacent its plugged end is enlarged to form a chamber l I and in this chamber a spinner I2 is rotatably mounted on the hard fiber tube 6 enclosing the welding rod and is held against longitudinal displacement by snap rings or other means embracing the tube. The spinner is provided with circumferentially spaced cups I2 against which is directed a jet of air from the noz z'le'endhm of a tube leading out- "side of the gun and adapted to be connectedto' a source of air pressure. The spinner is unbalanced by a small blob of metal l4 deposited off-center of its axis of rotation so that when the spinner rotates it imparts vibration to the welding rod. The air jet, and hence the rate of vibration, may be controlled by regulating the supply of air to the nozzle l3. The tube 6 is divided into two sections and held together by a flexible sleeve l which allows the welding rod to vibrate about this joint.

In the use of the fuel igniting device just described, the muzzle end of the gun, without the electrode, is passed through the brest or a tuyre of the cupola furnace and buried in a bed of small-lump coke C around and over which a charge of coke of normal size is de osited. The welding rod 5 is inserted into the tube 8 from thebutt end of the gun and shoved a ong the tube to a point'adjacent the end of the tube near the open end of the gun, after which a switch, suitably provided, is closed to allow current to flow to the welding rod. Simultaneously air is admitted'to the air d ct 3, by the op n ng of a s table valve, from the air hose 9, and air is also admitted to the nozz e 83 to drive the spinner [2. Continued movement of the weldin rod into contact with the coke causes an electric arc to be struck between the pro ecting end of the welding rod and the co e, the coke being grounded through the medium of the metal barrel of the gun.- At the same time, ground coke p aced in the pocket 1 is siphoned into t e air stream and upon reaching the arc intensifies the burning of the coke. The coke is ke t loose and agitated by the vibration induced in the welding rod by rotation of the spinner l2.

The air i suing from the muzz e of the gun produc s blast in the vicin ty of the arc and at the point of b rningof the coke. As a consequence, the combustion zone ex ands ra idly. The electrical current to the electrode and the air supply to the spinner are now cut o f and the gunis allowed to remain in the bed of coke and continue to suppl an air blast to accelerate the burning of the coke.

The air passing through the barre of the gun will maintain the fiber tube 6 and the gun cool. The welding rods used in my gun mav be tho e that are supplied for use in conventional welding equipment, several welding rods being secured end-to-end, and while such welding rods will be consumed at a fai ly rapid rate d ring the operation of the gun, their cost is comparatively ch ap and they are readilv procurable on the market. A new welding rod 5 may be replaced by another in the tube 6 as it is consumed. The gun may be made in sufiiciently small size and weight to permit it being readily carried from place to place, and it is of such a relatively sim ple construction as to practically insure it against getting out of working order.

The coke igniting gun just described corresponds in all essential respects to the apparatus described and claimed in my copending application above-mentioned. The present invention is concerned with a special attachment for use with the gun after the fire has been started in the cupola intended for introducing powdered treating materials, such as powdered carbon, graphite, alloying agents, etc., into the furnace charge in suspension in a large volume of air, so as to raise the carbon content of the iron, or, in

the case of other treating agents, to modify the properties of themetal being meltedin the fur- V To accomplish the foregoing object, the plug 4 is removed from the gun by unscrewing, and the electrode 5, with its fibre insulating tube 6, and the spinner l2 are removed as a unit axially through the open butt end of the gun. In place of these removed parts, an attachment is inserted so that the same gun may function as an injector.

The iniection attachment comprises a long, cylindrical, vibratory tube I5 made of metal which extends through the passageway 2 and throughout a portion of the length of the barrel section of the gun, terminating a substantial distance inwardly from the muzzle end of the barrel, as shown in Figure 5. The vibratory tube is of such a diameter relative to the bore of the gun as to provide ample clearance for the unrestricted flow of air lengthwise through the space between the tube and the barrel.

The inner end of the vibratory tube 16 (that is, the end of the tube nearest the butt end'of the gun) is mounted i a rubber sleeve ll which forms a flexible coupling with a nipple l8 projecting axially from the inner face of a plug 19. The plug I9 is generally similar to the plug 4, being threaded upon its circumference so that it may be screwed into the butt end of the gun to close the passageway 2. This plug is hollow and is internally threaded adjacent its outer end to permit coupling to a hose 29 through which powdered material under pressure can be delivered to and through the vibratory tube, if necessary,

to supply more material than can be siphoned.

from the pocket Ill.

The discharge end of the vibratory tube is slightly flared, as indicated at 2 l, and the outside of this tube is covered by a layer of rubber 22' to protect the tube against the abrasive action of the siphoned material.

A piping arrangement for supplying air to the gun when the latter is operating either as a coke igniter or as an injection device is illustrated in Figure 4. The air hose 9 is coupled to a distributor pipe 23 which has a main branch 24 leading to and threaded within the end wall 3a of the air duct 3 and a secondary branch 25 connected to the spinner-operating tube 13. A hand valve 26 controls the flow of air in the main branch 24 and similarly a hand valve 21 regulates the air flow in the secondary branch 25.

In the operation of the device, after the fire in the cupola has been started in the manner dey scribed above, the air supply is cut oil and the a gun is withdrawn. The plug 4 with its electrode ass mbly is removed endwise from the gun, as before described, and the plug 19 carrying the vibratory tube I6 is inserted in its place.

The muzzle end of the gun is now'inserted" through one of the tuyeres of the cupola into i the wind box surrounding the cupola with its" muzzle end terminating short of the inside circumference of the cupola. In this way advan-' tage is taken of the air blast through the tuyere to intensify the siphoning action of the gun.

During the operation of the gun as an injector,

the electric current, of course, is cut 01? and the device operates exclusively by air.

In order, to alter the'composition of the-furnace charge and hence to modifythe charac'i- A short pipe section 28, slightly closed at its discharge end to give it a nozzle effect, screws teristics of the metal being produced, pulverized material is siphoned into theair stream flowing through the air duct 3 by feeding such materialsinto the pocket I 0, just as powdered fuel was earlier fed intothis pocket when the gun was used for starting the fire in the coke bed. For example, if an iron of high carbon content is is desired, powdered carbonaceous material, such as graphite, is introduced into the pocket [0. This creates an atmosphere of high carbon concentration in the melting zone of the furnace with consequent absorption by the m:ta1 being melted. In the same way, other treating agents, such, for example, as forrosilicon, manganese and other alloys in powdered or granulated form may be injected into the furnace charge to impart the desired properties to the metal. Additional material may also be introduced into the gun from hose 2!), if desired, as before mentioned.

During the use of the gun as an injector, the air discharged from nozzle 13 strikes the vibratory tube l6 and; by reason of the flexible connection I1, forces this tube laterally and then in its continued forward flow strikes the flared end 2| of the vibratory tube It urging the tube back again. Thus, the repetition of these actions causes the tube to rapidly oscillate about its rubber sleeve connection ll. This constant vibration of the tube induces pulsations into the air stream and these pulsations serve to prevent the powdered material from clogging the discharge outlet from the pocket It] or the bore of the un. Thus, the siphoning action of the powderrd material into the air stream continues uninterrupted while the gun is in service. powdered treating-material may be fed into the pocket It either manually or from a supply bin (not shown) adapted to be placed in communication with the pocket.

When the gun is operating as an injector using powdered material of a fioury consistency, such as has a tendency to clog the passages of the gun, the valve 2'! normally will be open to allow air to feed through the nozzle is for actuating the vibratory tube It and the valve 25 will remain closed. However, when material of coarser particle size is to be injected, the valve 21 may be closed and the valve 26 opened to admit air into and through the passageway 3, no need for the vibratory action of the tube It existing under such conditions.

The construction of the injector is such that the plug [9 and the vibratory tube I6 can be removed as a unit from the gun even while full air pressure is maintained through the gun from the air valve 26. This follows from the fact that the air flowing through passageway 3 exerts a forward pressure (that is, in the direction of the gun muzzle) rather than a backward pressure. Therefore, should vibratory tube 26 become clogged with material during operation this tube may be removed from the gun without the necessity of shutting off the air supply and without interrupting the flow of material from pocket 10.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the injection attachment is of relatively simple and eificient construction and capable of being quickly assembled with the cokeigniting gun forming the subject of my copending application, thus permitting the same gun to fulfill two different and important functions in cupola furnace operation-first, to start the fire in the cupola and, second, to modify the physical or chemical characteristics of the metal produced therein.

The

While a preferred specific embodiment of the" invention has been set forth, it is to be under stood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction illustrated and described but that various modifications of these details; may be made within the purview of the appended" claims. 3

I claim:

1. A portable treating-material injection de-' vice for furnaces comprising an elongated, tubular barrel open at its outer end and closed at its inner end, a vibratory tube extending lengthwise within said barrel and terminating short of the outer end of the barrel, a flexible coupling supporting said tube in spaced relation to the barrel and affording limited lateral movement for the outer end of the tube, means for connecting said barrel to a source of air pressure for introducing powdered materials into the barrel and air-operated means upon said tube for imparting vibration to the tube.

2. A portable treating-material injection device for furnaces comprising an elongated, tubular barrel open at its outer end and closed at its inner end, a vibratory tube extending lengthwise within said barrel and terminating short of the outer end of the barrel, a flexible coup ing supporting said tube in spaced relation to the barrel and affording limited lateral movement for the outer end of the tube, means for connecting said barrel to a source of air pressure, means for introducing powdered materials into the barrel and an outwardly flared portion upon said tube adjacent its outer end for imparting vibration to the tube.

3. A portable treating-material injection device for furnaces comprising an elongated, tubular barrel o en at its outer end, a plug closing the inner end of the barrel, a vibratory tube extending lengthwise within said barrel, a flexible coupling connecting the inner end of the tube to said plugand affording limited lateral movement for the outer end of the tube, a nozzle adapted to be connected to a source of air pressure for directing a stream of air against the tube, means for introducing powdered materials into the air flowing through the barrel and projecting means upon the tube for intercepting the flow of air through the barrel.

4. A portable treating-material injection device for furnaces comprising an elongated tubular barrel open at its outer end, a plug closing the inner end of the barrel, a vibratory tube extending lengthwise within said barrel, a flexibe coupling connecting the inner end of the tube to said plug and affording limited lateral movement for the outer end of the tube, a nozzle adapted to be connected to a source of air pressure for directing a stream of air against the tube, projecting means upon the tube for intercepting the flow of air through the barrel, an air duct communicating with the barrel at a point intermediate the length of the barrel and an inlet for powgerejd materials communicating with the air 5. A portable treating-material injection device for furnaces comprising an elongated tubular barrel open at its outer end, a plug closing the inner end of the barrel, a vibratory tube extending lengthwise within said barrel, a flexible coupling connecting the inner end of the tube to said plug and affording limited lateral movement 1 for the outer end of the tube, a nozzle adapted to 2,540,002 7 be connected to a source of air pressure for di- REFERENCES CITED recting a stream of air against the tube, an outf r Wardly flared portion upon the tube adjacent its fi g g ig ggii fi are 0 record in the end for intercepting the flow of air through the ba-rrel, an air duct extending approximately par- 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS allel to the barrel at a. point intermediate the Number Name Date length of the barrel, and a pocket for holding 907,692 Hervey 22, 9 powderecl materials communicating with the air 1,042,576 Lindhard 061- 29, 1912 duct 1,587,197 Southgate June 1, 1926' DONALD EARL MASON. 2,200,? 13 Ericson May 14, 1940v 

